Every spring I become a madwoman. My husband starts the eye rolls and my wallet begins to suffer. It is that time of the year where I hunt for a new, colorful item to add to my beauty stash. I am so tired of, well, looking tired by the end of a Midwestern winter. I become driven by thoughts of pink blush, sea foam colored eye shadow, and lilac fingernails. This year, I started searching for that little extra something to give me the ever-coveted “inner glow.” In shopping for some shampoo, I stumbled upon a gem at my local grocery store. Enter our hero of this story: Nature’s Gate Glow Lotion for Light Skin Tones. I was already familiar with the brand, but had never actually used their products. Glancing at the back of the bottle, I saw my favorite smiling bunny logo to confirm that the product was cruelty free and vegan. A quick glance at the ingredients showcased some skin-saving ingredients such as almond oil, rosehip oil, and glycerin.

The product claims to give your skin a darker tone with continued use. You can either use the product daily to get a 365 look of sun, or you can use the product until you achieve the desired color. To be honest with all of you, I am completely lazy when it comes to moisturizing my skin with lotion. I’m usually more of an oil gal because I find that using oil on my skin takes far less time. Therefore, I tested the product only a few times in the first few weeks out of pure laziness. After only a few applications, I was pleasantly surprised to notice a subtle darkening on my legs and my arms. In fact, the effect was so perfectly subtle and unobtrusive that I questioned if it was my imagination. My observations were validated as over time the glow deepened. I didn’t look orange or brown. It was just a hint deeper than my regular skin color. Again, I can’t say how my skin would look if I piled on the lotion daily, so I can’t speak to that. In addition, I didn’t exfoliate my skin daily.

After my few weeks of trials, here is what I like about the product:

It’s really moisturizing. The lotion sinks into my skin and does not sit on top.

It doesn’t take long to dry and has not stained my garments or hands.

The glow effect is believable.

There is a lot of product for the price. I paid around $14.00 for 16 ounces. While this is expensive, in comparison to other self-tanners, it’s really on the affordable end.

It comes in a convenient pump bottle!

Here is what I don’t like so much:

The smell. To be fair, it certainly doesn’t have the chemical smell of most tanning lotions. It’s a neutral smell out of the bottle…a little minty or herby. However, I noticed once the product dried and sat on my skin, I smelled an almost yeasty smell. I’m not sure how noticeable it might be, but I’m very self conscious when I wear it.

The fact that a lot of the ingredients, upon further inspection, may be irritating or even toxic. There are no parabens, but there are quite a few other chemicals that I can’t pronounce. That always makes me a little wary.

The product is hard to find. I found it by chance in my local grocery store, but I doubt it’s very easily available for other consumers. The next time I went back to my store, I couldn’t find it either. I did a little research and noticed that some people have been able to find it at Target. (My Target doesn’t carry it).

I would suggest that if you’re already a fan of the tanned look, or if you already use self-tanners, this might be your new best friend. The lotion also comes in a version for medium shades of skin. I will finish the bottle and then probably just embrace my pale. Until next spring…

This was a guest post by Michelle Donfrio. Michelle has several passions, but two of her great passions are writing and health/beauty tips. She wants to share the knowledge with all she knows that the body is a blessing and so is the Earth, so let’s take care of both. She currently works in advertising and has varied writing experience including WGN Television, The Joliet Herald News, and poetry journals.

Love writing and trying out new vegan beauty products? Come write for Vegan Beauty Review! All we ask is that the products you review be vegan (i.e. no animal products). Interested? Drop me a line at sunny@veganbeautyreview.com